I am in the process of buying a home and the well water analysis came back with the following info that was not within the standards.

iron .38mg/l
manganese .35 mg/l
ph 5.90su
lead 5.47 ug/l

I was given info that a water softener should do it but with all I am reading I do not see that the lead will come out with a water softener.

I see reverse osmosis/Calcite filters so I am becoming confused as to what I should get.

So I am hoping someone could point me in the right direction as to what I need to correct my water.

Thanks so much

08-08-2007, 02:14 PM

Andy CWS

Your lead levels are quite high and I would attend to those as far as your drinking water is concerned. You would also need an acid neutralizer as this can excellerate lead leaching from pipes. I suppose your hardness is relatively low, say 2-6 grains per gallon. Would that be right?

How can you reduce lead in your drinking water?

Let It Run. Flush taps before using water from them for drinking or cooking. Water that stands idle in pipes for long periods of time-such as overnight or during the day when people are gone to work and school-is more likely to absorb materials from the plumbing system. The best way to rid the pipes of water that may contain lead is to let the cold-water faucet run until you feel that the water is as cold as it will get. The amount of time this takes will depend on your home and how its plumbing is arranged-but you should always run the water for at least 60 seconds. If your home has a lead service line (which you can determine by asking your local water utility), you should flush water for an additional 2 to 3 minutes to make sure you are getting fresh water from the water main. Be sure to flush standing water before using any water for drinking or cooking purposes.

Tips for flushing:

* Other household water uses will also help clear standing water from your home's plumbing. For example, you may want to establish a routine of doing household tasks that use water-such as showering, flushing the toilet, or running the dishwasher-first thing in the morning before using water for drinking or cooking. Keep in mind that you'll still need to flush individual faucets for a short time before using them for drinking water.
* The water you run from drinking water taps does not have to be wasted. You can use this water for cleaning purposes or for watering plants.
* You may want to keep a container of drinking water in your refrigerator, so you don't have to run water every time you need it.

Use Only Cold Water for Cooking and Drinking. Hot water dissolves lead more quickly than cold water, so don't use water from your hot-water faucet for cooking or drinking. If you need hot water for cooking or drinking, take water from the cold tap and heat it. It is especially important not to use the hot water for making baby formula.
Will water treatment devices help?

Some treatment devices can reduce the amount of lead in your drinking water. Reverse-osmosis and distillation units can be used for that purpose. A few types of water filters also remove lead. Check the product literature to be sure it has been certified for lead removal by NSF International (http://nsf.org). Also, you must follow the manufacturer's recommendations for operation and maintenance to ensure that the treatment equipment works correctly.

08-08-2007, 03:29 PM

hlardieri

On my water report I do not see a hardness number would it be called something else?